Twin Peaks TV show discussion

Hi everybody, I always wanted to watch Twin Peaks ever since I watched the Endurance Run of Deadly Premonition.

Now, I have some free time on my hands before university resumes, and I saw that Hulu Twin Peaks has the series for free, full streaming.

I'm currently on the 2nd of 8 episodes, (I remember Ryan Davis saying Season 2 sucks, so not going to watch it), and my question is that does it get a lot better? Maybe because I've been spoiled with the recent history of great network and cable channel TV shows, but why is Twin Peaks regarded so well? It's rated a 9/10 on IMDB, and I think I read somewhere that the Pilot episode, which was good, is rated as one of the best episodes of TV ever.

Please use spoiler tags if you must discuss spoilers.

I'm someone that thoroughly hate TV shows. I've watched some that friends recommended me but it never worked out. True Detective, hate it. Hannibal, hate it. Girls, hate it. Breaking Bad, hate it.

But then I like Twin Peaks. It's not incredible, but I think it is really good.

What is different between movies and tv shows is that shows are a writer's medium whereas movie are a director's medium. Most TV shows' directing is only functional and serves the purpose of showing the story. Even True Detective is that. There's that long shot in episode three (I think) and the photography is incredible, but the rest of the directing is terribly bland. The point of watching a show is to consume the writing. Direction comes second. That's what I don't like about those.

Twin Peaks is somewhat different, though not always. Looking at the pilot, it shows that Lynch is directing it. Sure, the quality of the photography is par with tv shows of that era, but the mise-en-scène itself is more than just functionnal.

Watching Twin Peaks, I've found that I liked some of the directors' style while did not like others. I ended up liking those directors' episode better than the others. Lynch being the obvious best of the bunch.

I wouldn't argue that is the reason everybody like Twin Peaks, but that is the reason I personally like it more than most TV Shows.

Twin Peaks is good, for most of the first season. It actually goes downhill before Season 2 starts, but you'll know when it's starting to take a nose dive. If you're still enjoying it, though, don't stop watching. Some people legitimately love every minute of the show.

I still think the show holds up, but I grew up when it came out. I do wonder if some of my enjoyment of most of the first season of that show has something to do with that. Nostalgia and what not. The thing is, the show has been homaged, ripped off, stolen from, and nostalgically beaten to death by so many other shows at this point if you watch it now (having seen most, if not all, of it's imitators) you won't see it like it was when it was new.

The best way I can put it: Do you remember when "Who shot J.R." was the huge draw to Dallas (an otherwise not very interesting TV drama also known as a soap opera)? If you do, then you may see why Twin Peaks was/is such a big deal to people. It was the first of it's kind at the time. Now- not so much.

If you weren't alive then, or maybe don't remember when TV shows had that kind of appeal you may not get it at all. I feel like you have to watch it from that perspective. The perspective of this being the first time you've seen something like that. On it's own face it's still fine, but there have been better iterations of the concept at this point.

It is a crazy fun show, though. For a good while. It just blows it's load to soon- and to be fair it's hard for it to not have. It was kind of doomed from the premise.

Edit: oh and the show completely nails place and tone. That's what that show is best at, and what it's best known for.

I love Twin Peaks.

My sister, brother-in-law, and I watched it every night and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

There are certainly some filler episodes, but the series is great.

Fire walk with me is something you kinda have to watch too, but it's not exactly good.

I just came to say that seeing BOB on the show gave me nightmares when I finally got around to watching it recently. Still have to watch Fire Walk With Me.

So for all the fans, what are some of the biggest reasons you like Twin Peaks, and how would you say it compares to shows such as Games of Thrones, Breaking Bad, The Wire, etc?

I think I agree with @cornbredx that I didn't watch TV at the time of Twin Peaks (I wasn't born yet), so maybe I can't see or understand its 'revolutionary' parts

I absolutely loved it when it was on, but I haven't watched it since, and I am betting it hasn't aged amazingly. Although I did watch Fire Walk With Me recently, for the first time, and that was way better than I had been lead to be believed, so who knows.

Also you have, have, to watch the second series. The last four episodes are some of the best television I have ever seen. It gets a bad rap because I think Lynch had plans for the series to continue but ratings slumped and they were cancelled. However they managed to write it to a close, even if it wasn't the finale they might have envisioned, and I think it really works.

The problem is that the show gets a little meandering and full of slightly pointless, but oh so quirky and loveable red herrings as it moves into series two. However it is really worth sticking with for the way it ties up. The end of series two is truly terrifying and surreal, while still making perfect sense. If you love Lynch's ouvre then you will enjoy it - and you won't know who kill Laura Palmer if you don't....

@wonderva: The first time I watched Twin Peaks was like 4 years ago and I fucking loved it. Maybe you need to reassess your expectations. I don't think anyone would ever call it "revolutionary." This is an early '90s show. Some parts are supposed to be soapy. Kyle MacLachlan. Season 2 is great. If you don't like season 2 then I don't know why you're even watching the show or what you could have enjoyed about it.

"Fire Walk with Me," the movie prequel that succeeded the show's demise, is pretty bad in comparison, though.

Well I'm going in it as a show recommended by fans of TV and its IMDB score of 9/10, though IMDB scores are a lot of times not exactly mine, I usually use them to gauge a show or film before I see it

Like I said in the OP, I just finished the 2nd episode and right now I would say the show is ok-good, not great. But there are 6 episodes left!

How does the Hulu video look? The new blu-rays are GORGEOUS.

Fire Walk With Me is hugely underrated. I remember being really excited for it at the time because I loved the series so much, and then it got absolutely savaged when it came out, and I didn't go and see it because I didn't want my memories of the show spoiled. I finally caught up with it last year, and I really think it is up their with Lynch's best stuff. It really captures the feel of the T.V. show, while being able to move into much darker and even more surreal territory. There seems to have been a bit of a critical turnaround as well -

Mark Kermode tells it much better than me:

I think you can watch it all the way through the solution to the original mystery and still enjoy yourself. After that it gets real weird, though. I never quite understood why I enjoyed Twin Peaks. It's just sort of hypnotizing despite the individual elements being soapy and kind of cheesy. I would say it is good/not great myself but it's so different, it's hard to call it boring.

@wonderva: Ya. I think you can look at it historically, see it's impact, and respect that, but it's not like TV that is well regarded now. It's a show that is completely necessitated by its own short term premise. This was common when TV shows having an ongoing story line was much newer, or more aptly different, than it is now. You can look back at television history to see it's marks: The fugitive, Dallas, Twin Peaks, etc... I personally wouldn't call them successful shows as a whole, though.

They all leave their mark because of their premise being a good draw, but ultimately the draw is to small for the show to be interesting throughout. Bare in mind that for a long time TV was necessitated by how many people see the ads around the show. So a good draw is what shows worked with, more so than just being well defined as a whole. I mean; how long can you go on asking "who is the one armed man" and still be interested by that concept? Back then the draw was "will they answer it this episode?" Yet, even then it wasn't the show itself that was a big deal, but rather the premise. Dallas, for example, had it's best ratings when they answered it. That's all that most people cared about.

That's not to say Twin Peaks (or even those shows like it, before it) is bad, or even that people can't still respect what it did for TV as a story telling medium. It was a good idea for ratings at the time, but it wasn't enough to carry the show further. It's possible the show could have morphed into something more, but due to differences (possibly artistic, I forget) David Lynch left the show and the show kind of loses track. He came back for the movie, Fire Walk with me, but by then it was kind of to late (and really you can't go back to a project and expect it to be the same; your mind is somewhere else by then).

I feel it still holds up for me because it's the most artistically driven TV show (at least for a while) that I've seen. That definitely wasn't common at the time. The dreams sequences are total mind fucks, and the cinematography is genuinely larger scope than most TV shows of the time. The pilot is also very well written. I just think the show wasn't fleshed out enough to be truly successful (just from a singular narrative standpoint) and possibly too ambitious. TV wasn't made to carry ongoing plots at the time. Shows like Star Trek were actually rare, and if you look at those narratively (the original Star Trek and maybe a little bit even TNG) you can even see in those that each episode is more about the episode rather than their show as a whole. There wasn't a lot of call back even though the characters were the same. It was about the episodes stories more than the narrative of the whole show- much more like anthology shows but with the same cast every week.

It's a much different mindset now. Twin Peaks is one of the first shows (not the first, just one of the first) to attempt an ongoing narrative through the length of the show. Unfortunately it wasn't a very strong premise.

@cornbredx: What killed Twin Peaks was ABC - they really did not know what they were doing. My favorite thing is that they changed population of the small town from ~5100 to 51000 because it is more relatable!

@charlie_victor_bravo: ya, there were a lot of things that killed Twin Peaks. What I was trying to describe is the mind set that brought that on. I feel the mind set behind TV shows is much different now.

Do you like tragedies and David Lynch movies? If so, you should watch to at least the middle of season 2. I saw the series for the first time a couple years ago after growing fond of Lynch's movies. Slight spoilers follow.

The first 6-7 episodes are a slow burn that builds the backstories of characters and gives clues to the main plot.

Then shit hits the fan from the season finale until the middle of season 2. These episodes are some of the weirdest stuff that has ever been shown on TV in the classic style of David Lynch that you either love or hate. Personally I love it because its postmodern TV that explores the potential for evil in all of us.

Sadly after that the show starts spinning its wheels in random subplots (which I guess is what Ryan meant sucked) but Lynch comes back to finish the series in greatness.

Twin Peaks hit the right style when grunge was spreading and it pioneered continuous plots in TV episodes. The main plot might be hard to follow but it is suitable for rewatching.

I just started today and didn't finish the pilot. Not because of lack of interest, just lack of time. I'll probably finish it tonight.

I only just got around to finishing the show a few days ago so it's still on my mind, but I really liked it. It sort of dips in quality a bit for some of the early second season, but I thought the later episodes of the season were pretty enjoyable. Still need to see Fire Walk With Me though, as it seems like that's at least worth seeing once.

As for why the show is so popular, I think there's a couple reasons. It was (and still is) kind of an odd and unique show, for network/primetime television at least. It goes into some weird territory and, in addition to some of its more interesting characters and plotlines, it has an opening sequence that goes on for almost two minutes. It seemed to do things that a lot of other things weren't doing so it stands out. It doesn't feel like just another cop drama/mystery, it's something else. It also has a relatively good balance of comedic weirdness and drama that made for an entertaining show.

@wonderva Why bother watching it if you're not going to watch Season 2? Obviously Ryan watched it because he knew he didn't like it. Why not watch it and form your own opinion on it? Season 2 has some of the best episodes in the whole series (I'm talking 2-3 episodes here guys, lets not get too carried away).

@rebel_scum: Well I thought it would be a waste of time. But if a lot of people are recommending S2, then I might check it out.

Just watch the whole damn thing. IMO it's one of (if not even the best) show I've seen.

This seems like a suitable place to ask, does anyone know if the blu-ray release is worth picking up?

Twin Peaks is probably one of my favourite TV shows of all time. To this day, I don't know how it managed to become as big as it did, because looking back, it was absolutely fucking nuts. Probably the weirdest mainstream TV show ever broadcast.

The long form series of the last decade (eg. Sopranos, the Wire, GoT) certainly owe it a great debt in terms of format. I'd say it definitely proved that there was a market for focused, continuity heavy series with series spanning plot lines. It did a hell of a lot to establish TV as a medium in which you could tell stories that are simply too ambitious in scope for a movie.

Twin Peaks doesn't hold up quite as well, today, but for its time, it was amazing. You have to remember that was a time when shows like Dallas and Knotts Landing and shitty sit-coms were all that were on at night and you mostly only had about four television stations, unless you happened to have cable. Twin Peaks was truly programming you planned around so you could make sure to watch it. And it was so odd and quirky with great atmosphere.

Hell, I still remember being twelve years old and walking around with a mini-cassette recorded, talking into it like a fucking dumbass, because of Twin Peaks.

I have not seen Twin Peeks since it was first on TV, what 23 years ago? I'm not even sure if I would like it now....yeah, I probably wouldn't.

I loved Twin Peaks because of the characters themselves, not so much the overarching story (which honestly just fumbles around through most episodes). Dale Cooper is one of my favorite characters in any TV series. He just felt like such a genuinely nice guy, who has a troubled past that doesn't ruin his life but enhances his joy of the small things.

You also have to be able to tolerate some David Lynch insanity. Even though the show wasn't all his doing, it still has his touch, and I can see that turning off most people.

I love the cinematography, the writing, the all round fucked up weirdness that hoes on in that show. Theres just something about it, and it has that thick David Lynch ooze all over it.

I honestly cannot really describe my feelings about it accurately, but I have watched it all twice so I guess I must like it!

Like the OP, Deadly Premonition made me want to watch Twin Peaks. I loved the show, even most of season 2 (there was some tedious nonsense, sure, but overall I think it's an integral piece of the series). It was like nothing I had seen before. It just built a great world with incredibly memorable characters. The series finale still sticks with me.

Fire Walk With Me scared the hell out of me for some reason. I actually had to watch it in two sittings. Can you guess where I stopped?

Hell of a soundtrack, too.

Season 2 for me goes like this, it's great. Until lynch and frost quit the show. Then about 6 episodes or so are pretty fucking bad. Then the final 6 or 7 episodes when lynch and frost come back re capture the former glory of the show. Also FUCK JAMES!

I think I love the soap opera melodrama more then answers to the mysteries of the red room.

I just started watching. I'd like to make the bold claim that Twin Peaks is even weirder than Deadly Premonition. I wish I saw this show back when it was released.

EDIT: Okay, after watching it further I don't think my claim is as bold anymore... Twin Peaks definitely is weirder than Deadly Premonition.

I first saw Twin Peaks about a year ago - it was the first bit of David Lynch I ever saw, so I was completely weirded out to begin with but once I got the hang of it I just fell in love. The cinematography, the characters, the originality and imagination involved make it a really great show. I don't know how fair it is to describe the storyline as 'fumbling'... I think of it as a jolty ride in a dark tunnel with no idea of the route ahead: just sit back, go along with it, and enjoy the ride!

I bought the pilot on VHS many moons ago. I love surreal and offbeat stuff but this had something else to it that I could put my finger on. Season 2 licked balls though, too much soap opera "who the fuck cares" plot lines. Though I'm probably one of the only people who actually enjoyed the movie Fire Walk With Me. I showed it to my buddy whilst we were getting juiced and he made the best WTF face when David Bowie came into the FBI office. Oh and I actually own these two beauties.

Hi all, been busy lately so I still haven't finished Twin Peaks (Which is streaming HD on Netflix I found out, so thats better than Hulu, at least for me)

Been reminded about this thread when I saw a trailer for an upcoming show, Gracepoint which gave me a Twin Peaks vibe, anyone else? It actually premiers TOMORROW

Caught my eye since it stars Mrs. White (Anna Gunn)

@wonderva: David Tennant too (WITH AN AMERICAN ACCENT WTF!!!).

He was one of the Doctors in Dr Who (in case you didn't know, cus you didn't mention him).

Ya, it's on my radar now. I gotta give that a chance. I have a responsibility at this point! Thanks for letting us know, that teaser is intriguing.

Yeah, Twin Peaks was a show that came about 15-20 years too early. It really needed today's mainstream cable ecosystem to survive - it was a little too weird and niche for it to be successful in an era when there were only a handful of channels available to most people.

I think if it was made today, it would actually be very successful because it could be aired on SciFi or AMC or something where it could be better matched with its audience and not need a billion people watching in order to justify it's existence.

. . . God I'd love a remake.

I think every episode directed by Lynch shows and is really excellent. I fucking love the final episode, and the episode where *not really spoilers* *it had to happen at some point* they find the killer. For those 2 reasons I'd recommend slogging through Season 2, even though some of that shit is downright garbage. Like the point where Audrey's father thinks he's in the civil war, and James driving his motorcycle out of Twin Peaks and doing shit that is too boring to remember is a clear indicator that the show certainly ceased to have the same inspired, creative force behind it that it once had. But then I feel like Lynch comes back at the end in a way that is really awe inducing and spectacular. After all that garbage, it really made me want more. There's a couple of fan edits I've heard of that are apparently good at cutting out the garbage, so if you can't stand to sit through the second season you might want to seek some of those out. I think one's called Northwest Passage, which is the name the show was originally going to be called.

@hunterob: As far as Season 2 goes, it would have been great if they had pulled a True Detectives and just had each season be its own self-contained story with the weird town and Black Lodge/White Lodge stuff as a consistent undercurrent.

Yeah, I haven't seen True Detectives but that would probably have been a much better approach. Had they wrapped Season 1 with the conclusion they reach midway through Season 2, and if they had focused Season 2 on some of the interesting stuff near the end, it could have been a tight, enthralling package.

They really needed more of Lynch's guidance though. Most of Season 2's problem seems to be that it was passed off to writers and directors with no overarching aim who thought "people just want to see these quirky characters do weird shit, right!? That's the appeal of this show, RIGHT!?".